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Birdie Buns

Course Side Dish
Prep Time 1 hour
Cook Time 20 minutes
Rising 2 hours 45 minutes
Total Time 4 hours 5 minutes
Servings 24 buns

Ingredients

  • 1-1/2 cups milk
  • 1/2 cup lukewarm water (85F/30C)
  • 2 tsp granulated sugar
  • 2 packs active dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 eggs, beaten
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 7 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

Instructions

  1. Scald milk, and cool to lukewarm. (To cool quicker, pour milk into a cookie sheet.) Set aside.

  2. Place water in a large mixing bowl. Add 2 tsp sugar, and stir until dissolved. Sprinkle yeast over water, and let stand 10 minutes.

  3. Stir yeast mixture well. Stir milk (scalded and cooled to lukewarm) into yeast mixture, and add 1/2 cup sugar, salt, eggs, butter, and half the flour. Beat with a wooden spoon until smooth.

  4. Add enough of the remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. You might not need the full 7 cups. You can use your hands (make sure to flour them) or a wooden spoon for this step.

  5. Using your hands (flour your hands and work surface) or a mixer, knead the dough until smooth. This will take about 10 minutes. The more you knead, the better the consistency of the buns.

  6. Make the dough into a ball, and place in a greased bowl. Turn the dough in the bowl a few times so the dough is covered in the grease and won't stick to the bowl. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until dough doubles in size (60-90 minutes).

  7. Punch the dough down, and let rise (covered) again until almost double in size (30-45 minutes).

  8. Form dough into balls that are the size you want your buns (recipe should make about 24 buns). Then, form each bun into a birdie (see pictures below). Place birdie buns on lightly greased cookie sheets. Allow buns to rise another 30 minutes. Buns can be baked in simple balls, although the birdie shape provides a unique twist.

  9. Bake buns for 18-20 minutes (until starting to turn golden brown but still soft). Either bake convection at 325F (with pans on racks 2 and 5) or regular bake at 350F (one pan at a time on middle rack).

Recipe Notes

Dough will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, although it is best when used right away. To prepare the dough to keep in the fridge, allow it to rise once, and then grease the top well and cover with wax paper and a damp cloth. Refrigerate and use as needed.